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The Skinny: Nainital is a town high in the hills with a lake said to be the eye of Hinduism's Sati, and quite the setup for Indian tourists in the high season (mid-April to mid-July). Of course, we hit the high season straight on and paid the price for it (literally) in inflated hotel costs and streets insanely packed with families of upper class people on vacation.

What Thar Be: There's a 50R chair lift that goes to the top of the ridge for a glimpse of the Himalayas to the north, and a ferris wheel at the bottom for the kiddies. The lake is the main draw here and the reason the British even bothered to build the town. You can rent paddle boats or giant white boats in the shape of enormous swans. But what we liked best was ZoomLand, the roller rink, with adjoining video arcade. We didn't join the happy skaters, but tokens for the arcade being only 1 rupee, we enjoyed a little nostalgia with a couple games of Kung Fu and Super Mario Brothers.

Digs: Hotel Blue Star: Not The Best Hotel in Nainital, we would surely say. Our one single and one double cost 350R for both, with private baths and private mattress urine smells. The bubbling raw sewage back-up out front can probably still be smelled as you read this, and in fact, good off-street parking for motorcycles is the only thing that saves the Blue Star from being completely without merit.

Vittles: The Prem Restaurant down the street along the way to the Flats and the mosque serves deeeelicious BunTikki at good prices, but unfortunately with bacteria included. We switched to the Sher-e-Punjab with its 1950s diner atmosphere and shining "Insect Killer" bug light, and enjoyed thali for 35R and big omelettes for 15.

Hooch Factor: Unknown.

Navigability: In the swarming high season, the streets were an unpleasant mass of horns and taxis. Jams were common near the Mall and had to be waited out as cars reversed and readjusted.

Sliding In and Out: The route from Banbassa to Nainital starts out on a single-lane, sealed road that cuts through some small villages. We took a shortcut at Chorgalyn and drove down a narrow, paved, smooth road winding through small villages and thick vegetation. About 30 kilometres outside Nainital, the well-kept road starts to climb steeply and does so until you reach the town.